04 Jan
Blog

Garmin Venu 2 Plus Review: Premium in All the Right Ways

The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is an excellent smartwatch.

Garmin Venu 2 Plus in the test: Premium in the right way

RRP $ 449.99

“The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is a premium smartwatch in every way, also in terms of price. But if you consider rock-solid connectivity, a lot of data and control by voice assistants, it deserves its price. "

benefits

  • Solid connectivity

  • Telephone calls and assistant

  • Battery life

  • Strong GPS

  • Lots of data

disadvantage

  • High price

  • Unintuitive user interface

  • Some services are missing

I think it is very important that we get this review right by saying that I am not the target audience for the Garmin Venu 2 Plus. I'm on the wrong side of 300 pounds and the wrong side of 40, although the former is more likely to disqualify me. My idea of ​​a great workout is to park down the block to go to the donut shop. When Garmin contacted me and asked if I would like to check out their latest smartwatch, of course I took the chance. Well I didn't jump because fat men don't jump, but you get the idea.

I've been using the Garmin Venu 2 Plus for two weeks and while I'm not the ideal Garmin wearer, I can see where this watch is the ideal smartwatch for me. For most of my trial period, I wore the Garmin smartwatch that was paired with a Pixel 6, and also wore an Apple Watch SE that was paired with an iPhone 13 Pro for comparison purposes.

Here are my thoughts.

Design and comfort

The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is an excellent smartwatch.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

The Garmin Venu 2 Plus has a bright and crisp 1.3-inch AMOLED screen that is bright and easy to read in all situations. It's comfortable to wear, even though it's a little thicker. The three buttons on the side are easy to press and provide correct feedback when pressed. Each button has its own function, from starting an activity to entering menus, but new to the Venu series are the microphone and speaker.

The Venu 2 Plus is the first Venu smartwatch that makes and receives calls and controls your phone's assistant.

The Venu 2 Plus is the first Venu smartwatch that makes and receives calls and controls your phone's assistant. This is actually the feature I was looking forward to the most as I use the Google Assistant a lot throughout the day. Also, especially since I picked up the Apple Watch SE, I've gotten used to leaving my phone on my desk when I'm moving around the house and answering calls on my watch.

Using the wizard is similar to most other smartwatches, except that they can be woken up with a command word. The Venu 2 Plus requires you to press and hold the center button for a few seconds to connect. It's a little slower than I'd like (about three seconds), but it's not terrible in any way. Verbal responses play through the watch, just as you would expect when accessing the Google Assistant through a watch or headphones. Overall, it's a seamless experience.

Software and connectivity

What I liked most about the watch is the absolutely solid connectivity. As mentioned earlier, I wore both the Apple Watch SE and Garmin Venu 2 Plus at the same time, and both watches rang simultaneously for notifications each time. I expect this type of connectivity from the Apple Watch. After all, Apple is Apple. But with so many smartwatches and fitness trackers, frequent disconnections can be problematic. It even happens when you wear a Samsung smartwatch with a Samsung phone. But the Garmin stayed connected all the time, even when my phone was a house away.

However, the software of the Venu 2 Plus takes some getting used to. Most smartwatches use gestures in each individual direction for different things. The Garmin mostly sticks up and down, with only occasional swiping movements. The buttons all have different functions and rely on a press or a long press for different functions. I understand that there is only a limited amount of programming possible for three buttons, but even at the end of my two-week trial period I was still not used to all of the functions.

Notifications are extensive and detailed. The only gripe I could make is that the notification icons are limited. Weather, Google Photos, and Vivint Home Security notifications are all shown with the message icon. In fact, the icons that work and don't work are very different. It can get a little confusing trying to find specific messages. Also, some options for responding to messages are not straightforward. For example, when you reply to an e-mail, the phone opens the reply window. Replying to a text message is limited to a few preprogrammed replies.

The Garmin App Store has a decent number of apps and watch faces that mingle with other app stores, including Samsung and Google Play, that far outshines most fitness trackers like Fitbit and Xiaomi. Supported music services include Spotify and Deezer, but it lacks YouTube Music. Unfortunately, that's the service I'm subscribing to. Of course, the app functionality pales in comparison to the Apple Watch, but that would assume that both devices want to serve the same customer, which they aren't.

Health and Fitness Tracking

Before we dive into the fitness tracking aspects of this watch, let's pause to talk about philosophies. Apple certainly puts a lot of emphasis on health tracking and data. However, Garmin did not set out to develop a smartwatch. It should first create a health tracker that happens to work with your smartphone. This can be seen in areas like the Garmin Connect app, which is designed to give you as much data as possible. The Garmin Venu 2 Plus also tracks your heartbeat multiple times per second instead of once per second or even every few minutes.

Sleep data in particular is great information, and unlike the Apple Watch, tracking sleep doesn't cut your battery life by half or more.

I don't have the professional equipment to reliably record some training data (e.g. chest strap, BMI scale, O2 sensors, etc.), but the data I got from the Garmin Smartwatch is valuable. Sleep data in particular is great information, and unlike the Apple Watch, tracking sleep doesn't cut your battery life by half or more. For those who really collect data, the watch can also process inputs for tracking water usage or women's health. These have to be entered manually, of course, but it's nice to have all of this information in one dashboard.

Exercising, which to me means walking around the block, gives you even more data, including a map of your route, speed, average heart rate, climbs, pace, and more. The Apple Watch gives you similar data, both in bed and on the go. Apple even adds other protections like AFib detection and fall detection, both of which are important from a day-to-day safety perspective. Garmin has a feature that detects high-G events (read: falls) while a measured activity is in progress, which notifies emergency contacts if you trip and fall while running. That's nice, but only during measured activities, not all the time.

Performance and battery

Simply put, the battery life is amazing. Garmin advertises with around nine days of battery life, with a full AMOLED display and heart tracking that measures several times per second. The battery is drained when you add GPS and music streaming, but for everyday use this watch just keeps going.

When testing alongside the Apple Watch SE, the difference in battery life was sobering. I had to replenish the SE almost every day. In contrast, I only charged the Garmin watch twice during my two-week trial period. Even before I set up the Apple Watch SE for sleep tracking, it was maxed out for two days before the charger was needed.

The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is an excellent smartwatch.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

When I talked to Garmin about my upcoming Disney trip, they asked me to start a hiking activity with full GPS at the beginning of a day in the park and to check the available data at the end of the day. The battery can handle constant GPS contact and aggressive health measurements for an entire day. While this review was being written prior to this vacation, I'll be testing this out.

When I first started using the Apple Watch, I was amazed at how Apple was able to create apps that were so fully featured compared to the rest of the industry. The Garmin Venu 2 Plus offers an equally enlightening experience when it comes to battery life. Even if you turn on the GPS and keep playing music, you still get eight hours. Nothing else I've tested before comes close.

Price and availability

The Garmin Venu 2 Plus will hit the market on January 4, 2022 and can be purchased from Garmin for a fairly high price of $ 450. Garmin is quick to point out that all health monitoring is done without a subscription, which is fine, but Garmin has a legacy of high-priced hardware and the Venu 2 Plus definitely continues that.

Our opinion

Overall, the biggest thing about the Garmin Venu 2 Plus is the price that makes me pause, but that too comes from a man who doesn't work. Still, the battery life is fantastic, the connectivity is hard to beat, and the additional ability to take calls and use a voice assistant really rounds off the package for me. There are cheaper alternatives, and just as the Apple Watch SE taught me that apps are important, the Garmin Venu 2 Plus taught me that battery life is also very important.

From a software standpoint, the Garmin has a steep learning curve, but once you get it, it's easy to use and surprisingly robust. Receiving notifications as soon as they touch and respond to your phone is often not as smooth on devices that are supposed to be a smartwatch first and then a fitness tracker. Garmin really offers a complete package here with very few compromises.

There is no doubt that this is a premium device after a niche clientele. Garmin is number one in the fitness world, even above the Apple Watch, and it's not hard to see why. Not only are you a device dedicated to monitoring your health, with a range of accessories to help you do so, but you also get a fully functional smartwatch that has those basics too. That makes the Venu 2 Plus a compelling product if you have the budget for it.

The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is an excellent smartwatch.Adam Doud / Digital Trends

Is there a better alternative?

If you fall into that category of customers Garmin is looking for, no. This is it, with the possible exception of other Garmin offerings. If you're a general smartwatch user, the answer becomes less clear. If you're using an iPhone, the Apple Watch Series 7 is better in many ways, with the notable exception of battery life. In the world of Android, the water is getting murky. The Samsung Watch 4 with Google and Samsung's new version of WearOS is very appealing. Regarding less expensive options, boy, hello, there are options. But none of them will keep up.

How long it will take?

Garmin products are known for their build quality, and I can confirm that with this smartwatch too. The watch has a Gorilla Glass 3 dial and can be worn for swimming up to 5 ATMs or about 50 meters. Garmin products also typically come with a one-year warranty.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Venu 2 Plus is a fine smartwatch and shouldn't even be a smartwatch. PR talk aside, this is a really nice wearable that gives you a ton of health data and features in a single, admittedly expensive, package. If you are into sports (which some may refer to as something other than "fitness") this watch is a breeze. If you want a smartwatch that will last more than a weekend, you have it. If you're not sure that your next smartphone has the same operating system as your current one, this watch works both ways. Your bank account might not be a huge fan, but you can love a lot here.

Editor's recommendations



22 Apr
Blog

Garmin Venu 2 Review: Superb Tracking With Superior Battery

garmin venu 2 review 2s

"The Garmin Venu 2 / 2S is near the height of fitness trackers and smartwatches."

  • Up to 11 days of battery life

  • Detailed tracking of important health data

  • Health alerts keep users informed about stress

  • Dozens of workout routines

  • Numerous dials

  • High price

  • iPhone users cannot reply to messages

The Garmin Venu 2 / 2S is proof that Garmin has successfully changed direction from car-mounted GPS devices to incredibly powerful, useful wearables. This smartwatch can do more than just display messages – it monitors a whole range of health information. It will also yell at you when your vitals get too out of whack. Think of the Garmin Venu 2 / 2S as your personal, health-focused Jiminy Cricket.

Minimalistic design

The Venu 2 has a simple yet elegant design. The all black band, face and bezel give the Venu 2 a subdued look, but the minimalist design goes with any outfit. It can easily take the place of a "fancier" bracelet without spoiling the overall look.

The Venu 2S is optionally available with a white band with a gold bezel. It also has a slightly smaller screen at 1.1 "compared to the 1.3" screen on the Venu 2. There are two buttons on the right side of the band that, along with the touchscreen, control most of the Garmin's functions. The band has approximately 20 micro-adjustment slots so you can get the perfect fit regardless of the size of your wrist.

The best part is that the smartwatch is convenient. I wore it to bed every night for two weeks and it didn't feel uncomfortable once, unlike many other wearables I've tried. The Garmin Venu 2 is lightweight and will quickly become a standard part of your everyday life. I don't feel it when I'm wearing it, but I definitely feel it when it's not on my wrist.

Health traits

The health features are where the Garmin Venu 2 really shines. This smartwatch takes almost all of the best features of fitness trackers and smartwatches and combines them into a single tool that has been used at almost every point in my day.

Battery life

The first thing to note is that this iteration of the Venu includes some new features that will bring it far more usefulness than before. The most important among these is the battery life. The first time I buckled up the Venu 2 was around noon on a Friday. I didn't take it off to recharge until the next Thursday evening – almost seven full days.

It has the range to provide charge for more than a week.

According to its specifications, the Venu 2 can last up to 11 days on a single charge as long as it is in smartphone mode (meaning the built-in GPS beacon is not used). I received a lot of notifications throughout the day that probably drained the battery faster than usual, but with minimal use I can easily believe it will last that long on one charge. It also charges quickly – just 10 minutes is enough to restore a single day's charge while four hours fully restore the battery.

Like the previous Venu, the Venu 2 can store songs in its on-board memory (although this version can store up to 650 songs instead of 500). Playing music and using your GPS will reduce battery life to just eight hours on a single charge. Still, it's impressive that the range is more than a week or less than a day, depending on the activity.

Health surveillance

Another useful feature is all-day health monitoring. This allows the Venu 2 to collect various health metrics throughout the day, including your heart rate, stress level, breathing, and even your pulse ox – your blood oxygen levels. Checking these stats can give you a good idea of ​​your fitness level, but you don't have to find out for yourself.

Another new feature is called Fitness Age. It gives you a rough estimate of the age of your body compared to your chronological age. You can check your fitness age on the Garmin app for suggestions on how to improve. For example, this could indicate that you are lowering your BMI or increasing your activity level during the day.

The new built-in workouts can help with this. The HIIT workouts help you keep track of your time and allow you to set up custom timers and intervals, while the Advanced Strength Training Tool keeps track of your personal bests at a glance and shows which muscle groups were trained during the workout .

Sleep score and health snapshot

The last two functions go hand in hand. The Sleep Score gives you an estimate of how well you slept on a scale from 1 to 100, as well as suggestions on how to improve your sleep. It shows you how long you've been through each phase of sleep – a useful feature when you're trying to get the most out of your lack of sleep.

If you want a complete overview of your health, you can use the Health Snapshot to do a 2-minute workout while the Garmin Venu 2 records your heart rate, breathing, stress and other measurements. At the end of the workout, you will receive a report of your score and a rough estimate of your health.

Body battery

The body battery is a really interesting feature that is frighteningly accurate. It measures your overall energy level from 1 to 100 based on how well you slept the night before, how much activity you have during the day, how much stress you are, and more. At the beginning of the day you can see how much you “charged” during the night, and during the day you can see how much energy is “used”.

In my time with the Venu 2, the value of the body battery is about what I feel. Every time I feel tired or have trouble concentrating, the body battery value is below 40. At least it has given me greater awareness of the ups and downs of my energy throughout the day, especially the slump after lunch.

Other properties

Aside from its numerous health features, the Garmin Venu 2 also functions as a smartwatch. You will receive notifications from your phone right on your wrist. One of the few downsides to the Venu 2 is the inability to respond to messages like the Apple Watch can.

The Venu 2 works with Garmin Pay so you can do your shopping without ever having to withdraw cash or a debit card. At a time when everyone is still trying to avoid touching objects, this feature is a fantastic option.

If you're struggling to motivate yourself to exercise, the Garmin Connect app can help. I know competition is the best way to get me going, and the ability to earn badges through badge challenges makes me want to fill my profile with whatever I can. You can also view a news feed to see how your friends fared compared to yourself this week.

And if you decide to customize your watch face to suit your personality, there are several watch faces to choose from in the Connect IQ Store. You can even create your own watch faces with pictures from your phone.

In the Connect IQ Store you can also install various music apps like Spotify or Amazon Music, navigation apps like Find My Car and even other training apps like a tracker for elliptical trainers or inline skating.

Price and availability

The Garmin Venu 2 and 2S are available now at Garmin.com for $ 400. It has not yet been announced whether it will be available from other retailers.

Our opinion

The Garmin Venu 2 / 2S is incredible technology that brings many features into one small package – and has enough customizations that you can change to be unique to your lifestyle. It's a full-fledged fitness tracker with most of the features you'd expect from a smartwatch. If iPhone users could reply to messages or post a social media post right from the watch, it would be perfect.

The depth of health monitoring features make it a valuable tool for anyone looking to get fit. However, it's especially useful for people who want to shed a few unwanted pounds before a big event. For example, if you have a wedding in a few months and want to make sure you look good in your suit, the Venu 2 / 2S will help you keep track of which exercises are best for you.

However, the $ 400 price tag is steep. As much as I enjoyed using the Venu 2 / 2S (and will continue to do so), $ 300 seems like a better price – that is, all of the advanced sensors explain the cost. It's worth noting that the screen is a little too easy to scratch for a $ 400 device. There is a small blemish on the face after banging the clock against the wall.

Ultimately, however, it's a great watch – and the health warnings are the icing on the cake. You can set your Venu 2 / 2S to notify you when your heart rate or stress level exceeds a certain level. This can remind you to stop, stand back, and take a breath.

Is there a better alternative?

The Fitbit Charge 4 offers many of the same fitness tracking features (as well as GPS) for just $ 150. While it doesn't have all of the smartwatch features, if you're looking for a fitness-only tracker it's hard to justify spending an extra $ 250.

The Apple Watch SE is another cheaper option for $ 325, especially if you're an iPhone user. At the moment, the Garmin Venu 2 / 2S is still aimed more at Android users than iPhone users (although I had no difficulty connecting or operating mine via iOS).

How long it will take?

With proper care, the Venu 2 / S should last quite a long time. Even so, the screen is a bit fragile and easily scratches. Be careful, but don't worry about water – the Garmin Venu 2 / S is rated at 5 ATM, which means it should withstand a pressure of around 50 meters. You should be able to shower with the water without worry. It comes with a 1 year limited warranty that covers defects.

Should you buy it?

Yes, without a doubt. The Garmin Venu 2 / 2S is the best fitness tracker I've ever used, and it will continue to be used for the months to come as I get in shape for my upcoming wedding.

Editor's recommendations




23 Sep
Blog

Garmin Venu Sq Review: Great Health Tracking, Simple Styling

garmin venu sq rating in hand

"This is an excellent health and fitness watch at an affordable price."

  • Reliable and accurate activity tracking

  • Incoming data collection and analysis

  • Simple and lightweight design

  • Support for dozens of workout types

  • Almost a week of battery life

  • $ 50 for music features

  • Touchscreen can be fussy during exercise

  • Limited "intelligent" functions and notifications

You will have a hard time finding someone who doesn't know Garmin, and most of the time you will know the company's extensive range of fitness smartwatches. It has a well-earned reputation for making the highest quality, most accurate watches for runners, bikers, triathletes and every other possible outdoor sport.

But Garmin doesn't just want to play in the "pro" room. There's reason to believe that the Garmin name could lead to affordable sales that rival entry-level smartwatches and high-end fitness bands. This is where the Garmin Venu Sq comes into play.

Hardware and functions

You can't see it any other way. The Venu Sq looks like an Apple Watch. I know there are only so many ways to make a smartwatch with rounded rectangles, but it's hard to miss. Just a few days after getting the Venu Sq, I was in soccer practice and a teammate asked how I liked my Apple Watch.

However, that's not a bad thing. Unlike any other Garmin fitness watch, this isn't a polarizing design. It's simple, straightforward, and decidedly not looking robust. You can wear something other than workout clothes and keep wearing the Venu Sq without explicitly shouting to everyone around you, "You're damn right, I'm running!" Not everyone wants this recognition.

The plastic body is effective, albeit lightweight and cheap (remember, it's only $ 200). The brushed aluminum piece that surrounds the curved glass display cover, however, is a nice contrast and on the back, where the sensor array is located, neither thick nor bulky.

The display is just 1.3 inches diagonal and 240 x 240 resolution, but it definitely gets the job done. It has an ambient brightness setting and was easily visible in sunlight while it also got much darker at night. There is a large bezel on the screen that doesn't look too good, but honestly it doesn't affect how well you can use the watch considering how simple the software is.

This is a fitness-first smartwatch, not a generic "little phone on the wrist," so its smart functionality is fundamental. You can customize watch faces with some basic designs and data layouts, but it's nowhere near as extensive as Apple's. Notifications come to your wrist and you can act on them when paired with an Android phone. Otherwise, there is not much you can do outside of health and fitness. There are no news, apps, or advanced features here. And the vibration motor is very loud.

Even with a color touchscreen, the Venu Sq offers excellent battery life according to general smartwatch standards. Even with a constant Bluetooth connection that brought in notifications from my phone, overnight sleep tracking, and 4-5 hours of GPS workout tracking, I was able to get 5 days of battery life without any problems. This is without the "always on" display which would certainly put a few days off, but I found that a long delay in the display timeout is a good compromise.

Health, activity and training tracking

For a $ 200 fitness watch, the Venu Sq delivers where it matters. Sensors and tracking functions. You get the same core tracking and analysis as a $ 600 Garmin Fenix ​​6 running the same great Garmin Connect app on your phone. Here you will find constant, precise heart rate monitoring as well as the usual number of steps and the active minute value. Garmin's reputation for having accurate GPS tracking for running and cycling has also proven itself in my tests and perfectly tracked my activities.

Garmin uses the idea of ​​a "body battery" to measure your overall physical condition, which can be fun to track every day. But you also get a display for physical stress, calorie consumption, sleep analysis, training load analysis and training suggestions – again identical to much more expensive Garmin watches.

Every popular activity has a pre-built mode that you can jump into with a few taps and start tracking, from running and biking to stand up paddle boarding, cross country skiing, rowing, stretching, yoga, elliptical training, golf and More. The list is long.

The Venu Sq, like many of its other watches, also offers SpO2 tracking (aka Pulse Ox), something you otherwise only get on the latest Apple Watch Series 6. You shouldn't be putting a lot of weight into an SpO2 reading from a consumer smartwatch, but if it's something you focus on as part of your overall health picture, then it is here.

The only thing you are missing out on is a barometer so you won't get any altitude related tracking. No daily tracking of climbing stairs and, above all, no altitude information for hiking or running / cycling on paths. This isn't that important to most people, but anyone who takes their running or biking seriously will really miss getting accurate elevation data and an altitude-adjusted speed analysis.

While the touchscreen is good for everyday use and navigation, it is not the best interface for using the watch while exercising. Touchscreens work poorly with sweaty fingers and are accidentally triggered by sleeves and rain. After accidentally ending a run once, I turned on the screen lock, which unfortunately also disabled the side buttons – an annoying compromise, but a general improvement. It may seem gaudy to have a watch with 5 physical buttons like the other models from Garmin, but it really is the option to interface with a watch while exercising or while wearing gloves.

Like most of its watches, Garmin has an upsell fee to add music features to the Venu Sq. You pay an additional $ 50 for local storage on the watch, which can be used to sync music to Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer and play it right on your headphones. This isn't a big deal for me running or biking as it doesn't support YouTube Music (come on!) And I always have my phone with me, but I know a lot of people want to go off the phone and still have their Spotify playlists. For all-purpose smartwatches with integrated music functionality, a price premium of 25% for the Venu Sq is difficult.

Our opinion

The Venu Sq is well positioned to stand out from basic fitness bands like the Fitbit Inspire 3. It has a watch shape and a large screen, but without the big price hike when switching to a fully featured smartwatch from Apple or a high-end fitness watch from Polar or Garmin.

You get accurate tracking of activity, health, and training backed by the summary and analysis of Garmin's smartphone app, which gives you the same features you would expect from a much more expensive watch. It doesn't look like a hardcore fitness watch, however, which is likely a bonus for people who are only looking to spend $ 200 on this type of wearable.

There are definite shortcomings here if you take your fitness very seriously and need more accurate tracking, more sensors or hardware buttons. But think of the price here too. The Venu Sq is a great fitness-focused smartwatch that divides the difference between casual and professional users while also looking more like an all-purpose smartwatch.

Is there a better alternative?

Garmin's biggest competitor is hands down the Apple Watch Series 3, which is relatively old but still fully supported and is being sold brand new by Apple for $ 199. The Watch Series 3 is clearly unable to track workouts and provide detailed fitness data. However, if you own an iPhone, it offers a more holistic lifestyle smartwatch experience with better apps, notifications, and a better user interface. And the draw for services like Apple Fitness + shouldn't be underestimated.

If you want to specifically focus on tracking your runs, bike rides, and serious workouts, a more specialized fitness smartwatch like the Garmin Forerunner 245 makes more sense. It's more expensive at $ 275, but it has more buttons, a touchless screen, and a clear, always-on, low-reflectivity display in daylight.

How long it will take?

As an inexpensive fitness watch, the Venu Sq is not designed to last a decade. But it's well designed and built to be knocked around, and that's a good sign of its longevity. You may need to replace a belt a few years later, but it's an inexpensive proposition. Garmin also supports the Connect app and platform well. As far as data retention and analysis is concerned, you will continue to be able to use these functions for years to come.

Should you buy it?

The Garmin Venu Sq is a good fitness-focused smartwatch that is north of a fitness band's budget. Some people really don't want to spend more than $ 200 on a fitness tracker but want to get something that looks like a watch – the Venu Sq fits that market. Garmin's activity tracking and app are great, and that brings exceptional value here. Don't expect too much from the other “smart” functions outside of healthcare.

Editor's recommendations




26 Apr
Blog

Garmin Venu Review: A Great Balance of Sport and Everyday

Garmin Venu review 13

"The Garmin Venu is a solid fitness tracker, but its beautiful AMOLED display is the killer feature."

  • AMOLED display

  • Activity tracking

  • Training animations

  • Many sensors

  • Lack of detailed fitness indicators

  • Lack of space

The line between a smartwatch and a fitness watch continues to dissolve every day.

It used to be that if you are interested in fitness, you get a dedicated, nondescript fitness tracker with a super simple dot matrix display (I'm looking at you, Nike FuelBand). Then Apple came out with her watch and I remember how silly it sounded. I mean, I already had a smartphone – wasn't a smartwatch a little superfluous?

Oh, how times are changing, and there is no better example of watch development than the Venu from Garmin.

display

The Venu is basically the same as the Vivoactive 4 – a multisport smartwatch that still has all the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections required for Android and Apple notifications. However, the Venu has a significant difference in its display.

The AMOLED display of the Venu with 390 x 390 pixels blows the 260 x 260 MIP display of the Vivoactive out of the water. While their physical sizes are similar at 1.2 inches and 1.3 inches, respectively, the Venu's screen shows a much sharper picture with darker blacks and a range of colors that are surprisingly vivid.

The newly discovered vibrancy of the Venu is underlined by its active graphics and dials, which are far better than most Garmin wearables. The Venu heart rate chart alone is a rainbow of colors that made me do a workout just to make my metrics more fun.

Battery life

The only downside to the AMOLED display is its battery drain, and you will most likely be frustrated if you don't immediately change the dial setting to "always on".

I tried to live with the Venu in its default setting, which turns the display off automatically to see if the battery life information is correct. Garmin claims 5 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and 6 days in GPS mode, or up to 20 days when both modes are turned off.

Still, it only took me two days to get angry at shaking my wrist like a crazy person to make the display glow. As a result, I've set the display to stay on.

The penalty for switching is a longer drain on battery life, but I've still seen a little over 3 days of life with workouts a day, so this seemed like a worthwhile trade to keep my mental health.

design

The Venu doesn't want to weigh things down and has only 43 grams and a body of 43.2 x 43.2 x 12.4 mm. The size took a few days to get used to big clocks. This may be a deal breaker for some, but with the Venu's sharp display, I don't feel like I'm missing anything.

One of the best things about the Venu is that it has a touchscreen display. This makes for a more intuitive experience when scrolling through activities and daily statistics. With two physical buttons on the side, the Venu offers a satisfactory medium of universal usability and familiarity for existing Garmin users.

Venu's usability is enhanced by adding Garmin Pay for contactless payments and storing up to 500 songs. That number seems a bit low compared to Venu's competitors, but since you can stream Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer, that's not a big deal.

In addition to these features, the Venu has a calendar, weather, music controls for your smartphone and all the notifications you can ever request. While the usual "smart" features are covered, fitness tracking is where the Venu shines (and all of Garmin's previous experiences come into play).

Fitness tracking

Garmin loaded the Venu with sensors. On board are a GPS, a heart rate monitor, a barometric altimeter, a compass, a gyroscope, an accelerometer and a pulse oximeter. This is almost the same sensor array as the high-end Fenix ​​6 Pro, which also includes a thermometer.

All this sensitivity enables automated goals. The Venu learns your activity levels and begins setting daily goals based on your current activity. It can also record calories burned, climbed floors, minutes of intensity, VO2 max and estimates of energy and stress levels.

With all of these follow-ups, the Venu creates a fairly well-rounded view of your overall health and fitness. This is the metric ecosystem that die-hard Garmin fans have come to know and love over the years. With every firmware update they become more and more precise.

The core competencies of Venu are in the usual suspects when running, swimming and cycling. Running has pace and cadence tracking. While swimming, stroke, Swolf score, time and distance alarms are displayed. Cycling has triggers for distance, time, and calories burned, as well as the ability to connect to Garmin's Varia radar and lights.

I had no problems keeping track of runs or rides I did. However, when it came to connecting the Venu to my indoor cycling trainer, it made a connection, but never realized that I was pedaling. This wasn't necessary since the Venu still had my heart rate data and I was tracking the distance with Zwift. But there were some strange training logs that showed 0.00 miles.

Guided workouts

Venu is not just about tracking what you do. It can also guide you through training.

The most interesting are the animations available for yoga, pilates, strength and cardio. There are several training routines available, but you can also create your own workouts.

These animations are helpful because you are asked to try something different. It felt a bit awkward at first when I tried to keep an eye on the watch for the next yoga pose. Over time, however, I learned when to look at the watch and focus on my shape.

Once you have completed an activity, the Venu estimates your sweat loss based on the measurement data it has collected. I am a little doubtful of how accurate this value is, but after a little effort I thought about my hydration.

After a three kilometer walk, the Venu estimated that I had lost 201 ml. It's not much, but the memory that I could have a drink was a welcome piece of mindfulness.

Stat tracking

For the stat junkies, the Venu has the all-important VO2 maximum score. Your VO2 max is essentially a measure of how well your body uses oxygen and a relatively accurate way to measure your basic aerobic fitness.

Real VO2 max tests are done by putting maximum effort into it while monitoring your oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide emissions with lots of tubes and expensive looking medical devices. I am highly doubtful whether the Venu can keep up with the validity of a real VO2 max test, but most people will never do the utmost to do a real test, so the Venu estimate must be enough.

HR zones are what most people will look out for, but I've missed having more advanced metrics.

Unfortunately, the Venu lacks other key figures that will interest real fitness junkies. Are you interested in your current training or training status, whether you are doing basic or threshold training or monitoring your weekly training load? Then move on, because the Venu has none of it.

The Venu has heart rate zones to control effort during exercise. HR zones are what most people will look out for, but I've missed having more advanced metrics.

I also missed the route finding. Navigating the Garmin Fenix ​​6 Pro is one of the most powerful features. The Venu, on the other hand, only keeps track of where you went and has no idea how to say where to go. The only exception is golf, as the Venu has access to 41,000 courses that can be downloaded via the Garmin Connect app.

While the lack of navigation is kind of a mess, the Venu continues its list of features with elements like a sleep monitor to track your REM and deep sleep, and event detection that automatically sends your location to certain contacts when it detects a crash during a bike ride.

guarantee

Standard 1 year product guarantee.

Our opinion

The Venu has a solid list of features that are suitable for the vast majority of people who are fitness aficionados but not fanatical. While you may miss out on some navigation and detailed training metrics, the Venu's streamlined design and beautiful touchscreen is worth the $ 350 price tag, and if you find it for sale, it's all the more worth it.

Is there a better alternative?

The obvious alternative is the Apple Watch Series 5 for $ 400. When the App Store is available, the Apple Watch is extremely hard to beat if you're already an iPhone user. However, Garmin's experience with fitness and Venu's touchscreen makes it a viable option for anyone who isn't yet fully immersed in the Apple ecosystem.

How long it will take?

Garmin is robust as nail products, but the Venu doesn't have a raised bezel, so scratches on the Gorilla Glass Screen are more likely than usual. That means the Venu should last for at least several years.

Should you buy it

Yes, if you use an Android phone. If you already have an iPhone, you can raise the extra money for the Apple Watch Series 5 as it is a better choice by integrating it into the iPhone.

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